Breaking the Surface
by Neva
Summary: A Dark Angel/X-men crossover. Max has a chance at the future she hoped for, but is everything as it seems...and is she ready to leave her past behind?
1. Escape

Breaking the Surface  
  
A/N: I've been writing crossovers before I knew that they were called that, but this is the first one I've ever posted. Please forgive me for the following things: A) I'm terrible at fight scenes, and 2) some of the chronology might be a little off, since the two canons take place in radically different futures. I'm doing my best not to cheat. [] stands for thoughts, by the way.   
  
Disclaimer: Dark Angel (which is all you will find in this chapter) belongs to James Cameron and Charles Eglee.  
  
Chapter 1: Escape  
  
Even a super-soldier can't steer a bike with her eyes closed, and anyway, she was beginning to think that even that wouldn't erase the image of Logan's face. So Max kept her eyes open, but it took all her training, which she'd tried for ten years to get out of her system, not to feel remorse. Not to feel anything.  
  
[You win, Zack. After all this time, I'm doing what you said. I'm leaving the city where I started my life over. I'm leaving my not-so-perfect job, and all my friends. I'm leaving Logan, maybe forever. Of course, you probably wanted it like that.]  
  
He would, too. Not that he had persuaded her to leave Seattle for that reason, but she was sure he didn't mind getting rid of the competition into the bargain.  
  
[And how about you, Lydecker? Are you happy? You've finally driven me out.]  
  
A voice came back to her on the wind, an echo as if she'd spoken aloud. "Are you happy?" it demanded. "Are you happy?"  
  
No, she wasn't. That was the whole point.  
  
**  
  
It had started to rain just as Max reached a pathetic excuse for a town. She'd parked her bike and her bags outside a restaurant, claimed a table by the window, and ordered a cup of rather putrid-tasting coffee. Wasn't lack of exhaustion supposed to be one of the perks of being genetically enhanced? Why, then, did she feel so tired?  
  
[If some of my wiring has gotten loose, I can worry about that later. Let's deal with the easy questions first. Why did I leave? That one's almost too easy. Lydecker and his cronies were grilling my friends for information about me and the others, bugging my stuff, and God only knows what else. Okay, another question. Where am I going?]  
  
When she'd told Logan that it would be better if he didn't try to contact her, he'd undoubtedly thought that it was because he wouldn't be able to talk if he was asked where she was. The truth was, she didn't exactly have a plan. She had resolved to go wherever the road took her. Roads did that - carried you away from places. Especially her. Especially now.  
  
She was pulled out of her reverie by the unmistakable noise of a motorcycle revving up, and looking out the window, she discovered that hers had been mounted by two hundred pounds of small-town lowlife, complete with sidekicks.  
  
[Stupid, stupid, stupid! You were so wrapped up in all your regrets and emotion that you forgot that you left your keys outside.] "Oh, no, you don't," she said aloud, and rose from the table, moving out the door to a shout of, "Hey, you forgot to pay!"  
  
"Hey, boys!" she shouted in her best tough-girl voice. "Hands off!"  
  
One of them turned. "Don't tell me this is yours, doll face," he sneered.  
  
"Okay, I won't tell you. How about you just hand it over and make up your own minds."  
  
"And if we don't?" the guy on the bike jumped in. "We kind of like it. Hey, Jimmy," he called to the first guy. "Make sure the little lady stays out of our way."  
  
"You have got to be kidding me," Max said, ignoring the little voice inside her telling her that they weren't worth it. She belted Jimmy when he grabbed her from behind, and he stumbled back. One of his buddies moved in her direction and ended up on the ground, dazed but otherwise unharmed. "Anyone else want a turn?" she called.  
  
The others stepped aside hastily.  
  
"Didn't think so." Max reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of dollars. "Tell the nice lady inside that this was for the coffee." She pulled her goggles down over her eyes and within half a minute, she was rumbling down the rainy street again.  
  
Of course, she would have to be hit with a full-scale seizure before she was out of the pitiful town. She tried to get her foot down on the brake, or reach into her bag for her pills, or pull over for a rest until the shakes subsided, all without any success. And she was so busy trying, so busy warding off the images of her days at Manticore that always seemed to come with the seizures, that she didn't even notice when her bike hit a nearby wall.  
  
[That settles it,] she thought as blackness settled in. [Some of my wires are definitely loose.]  
  
A/N: Questions? Comments? Don't forget to review!   
  
  



	2. Burning Questions

A/N: Thanks for wanting me to continue (as if I wouldn't). Here's the next installment.  
  
Disclaimer: The X-men are the property of Marvel, and Max and those connected with her belong to James Cameron.  
  
Chapter 2: Burning Questions  
  
Faces Max knew peered out at her from the darkness. Zack, Tinga, Brin, Jondi... Kendra, Original Cindy, Sketchy...Lydecker stared stonily out at her, as if to say, "I told you so." Logan's eyes, behind his glasses, were filled with concern. For the world in general, as always, but could some of it possibly be for her. She tried to ask him, but all she could get out was, "Logan..."  
  
"How does she know your name?" someone asked.  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
She surfaced, leaving the staring faces behind. Hands held her down to wherever she was lying, and her first impulse was to bolt up and close her own hands around that person's throat. But he seized her wrists before she could get there.  
  
She stared up into a rather fuzzy face topped with seriously unfortunate hair that seemed to be arranged in two points. "Don't fight me," the face warned. "You'll just get hurt."  
  
"Wolverine, let her go," a woman directed from the corner of the room. To Max, "So you're awake."  
  
"Brilliant observation."  
  
"How does your head feel?"  
  
"It hurts." It did, and Max winced. "Where am I? Is this a hospital?" It looked like one.  
  
"Opinions differ," said the guy. "A hospital, a school, a refuge, an insane asylum. Take your pick."  
  
"I imagine that the young lady was hoping for a more specific answer," said a new voice, whose owner advanced closer. Despite the wheelchair (Max wondered if they were trying to tell her something) and the fact that he was obviously quite old, something told her that he was used to being in charge.  
  
"I was, actually," she admitted. "What are you, a mind reader?"  
  
"Yes," he said. "Why?"  
  
She ignored that. "Okay, let's start small. Who are you?"  
"That would be Professor Xavier," Wolverine (if that was, indeed, his name) volunteered.  
  
"I didn't ask you," Max snapped. "Is that who you are?" she asked the old guy.  
  
"Indeed it is."  
  
"Okay. As I asked him, where am I?"  
  
"In New York state. We found you quite a ways from here."  
  
"I'll say. Which brings me to my next question: How did I get here?"  
  
"By jet."  
  
She considered that, and decided to come back to it. "Why?"  
  
"You were injured in a motorcycle accident. Don't you remember?"  
  
"All too well," Max replied. "Speaking of my bike, where is it?"  
  
"We've kept it safe," Xavier answered. "Although it will be a long time before it's drivable again."  
  
"Peachy. What is this place, anyway?"  
  
"A school," Xavier said evenly. "For people with...unusual talents." He looked almost amused. "I assume you know what that's like, Max."  
  
"How did you..." Even before she got the question out, she could tell she wasn't going to like the answer.   



	3. Another Chance

A/N: This might be the last chapter you see here for a little while, unless I'm divinely inspired. And that's when you should really worry.  
  
Disclaimer: Okay, you know that the X-men are the property of Marvel, and that Max is the property of James Cameron. Enough said?  
  
Chapter 3: Another Chance  
  
"The Pulse was actually a blessing in disguise for us," Xavier began as he and Max left the infirmary.  
  
She stared at him. "Fuzzy back there said something about this place being an insane asylum. I'm beginning to think he was right."  
  
"Among his many other talents, he has a fine flair for exaggeration."  
  
"You keep talking about talents and gifts. And what did you mean about the Pulse being a blessing in disguise?" What she was really worried about, of course, was how he had known her secret, but he seemed to be getting into this. So Max did something she couldn't ever remember doing before: she waited patiently to get what she wanted.  
  
"It's true that the economy became chaos, and all computer technology, ours included, had to be re-configured, but such distractions took society's focus off of mutants."  
  
Max blinked. "Off of what?"  
  
"In the not-too-distant past," Xavier explained, "children have been born with genetic differences that resulted in miraculous abilities."  
  
She understood that, all right. "Example?"  
  
"One of our most loyal followers can shoot lasers from his eyes."  
  
She stared. "You're kidding."  
  
"I could not be more serious. Another can manipulate the weather." Before she could repeat that he was kidding, he kept talking. "Still another absorbs the energy of others, and so on, and so forth."  
  
"And where do you fit into all this?" Max demanded. She already had some idea, but if it was true, she was in big trouble. Not that she believed any of this.  
  
Believe it.  
  
When she realized that her companion had not spoken aloud at all, she did indeed believe it. And she was indeed in big trouble. Being on the run had always limited her choices of who to trust, and someone who could read minds was not high on her list.  
  
There was only one thing to do: get out.  
  
"Your secret, if you wish, is perfectly safe with me," Xavier told her. "I hoped we might come to some sort of understanding."  
  
"What kind of understanding?" Max asked suspiciously.  
  
"Your siblings. They are scattered, aren't they? We could help you find them."  
  
Max was rendered momentarily speechless. It had to be a trap.  
  
"There's no trap."  
  
"You are going to have to stop doing that." She considered. He seemed pretty sincere, which could mean everything. On the other hand, it could mean absolutely nothing.  
  
Losing the others, especially the last time, had been almost too much to bear. The idea of finding them again seemed almost too good to be true, and probably was. It probably wouldn't hurt to stay for a little while, just to see if these people were for real. "Okay," she said finally. "It looks like I'm not going anywhere for a little while anyway. Let's see what you have in mind."  



	4. The Big Picture

Disclaimer: I only own Shimmer.  
  
Chapter 4: The Big Picture  
  
It had been a long day. Max was no stranger to having things change really quickly, but this was definitely up there.  
  
Xavier had explained to her about a device he had constructed to locate people with unusual thought patterns. She wasn't even ashamed to admit that she'd tuned out a fair amount of the technical details, but had snapped to attention when she'd heard him say, "If your siblings are still out there, I assure you that this is the fastest and easiest way to find them." Fast or not, he had insisted that she stay the night. Apparently his abilities didn't extend to the knowledge that she didn't sleep.   
  
But she stayed anyway. She felt like she needed to keep tabs on Xavier, instead of the other way around. Something about him made her uneasy.  
  
[Something about everyone makes you uneasy.]  
  
"Force of habit," she said aloud. "Damn mental voices."  
  
"Oh, no, not another one!" came a voice from the doorway.  
  
Two girls stood there. Despite her silver hair, one looked a few years younger than Max - seventeen, tops. The other's own hair was striped in front with white.  
  
"Don't mutants know how to knock?" Max grumbled.  
  
"You say that like you weren't one yourself," said the silver-haired girl. "You don't have to deny it anymore, Max."  
  
These people were warped. Someone - no prizes for guessing who - had obviously told them that she was one of them. "How did you know my name?" she asked suspiciously. "Don't tell me you're psychic, too."  
  
"You mean you aren't?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"The whole school knows about you," the other girl told her. "We always guess about the new people."  
  
"Glad to help."  
  
The silver-haired girl took charge. "I'm Shimmer," she said. "This is Rogue. I'm glad you're here."  
  
"Well, I haven't been around long enough to say that I'm glad to be here," said Max. "Tell me a little bit about this place."  
  
"Didn't the professor tell you anything?" Shimmer wanted to know.  
  
"Not nearly enough."  
  
"Well, as you can probably guess, ordinary people don't like mutants much."  
  
"I've never heard anything about them."  
  
"You're kidding," said Rogue, wide-eyed. "Where'd you grow up, anyway?"  
  
Like anyone would believe her if she told them. "What can I say? I'm an ignoramus."  
  
"A while back - before the Pulse - mutants were the biggest thing since the moon landing. Nobody knew why they had these powers. It made the general public very suspicious, I can tell you. They were afraid of what they couldn't understand, right? They believed that mutants were monsters, and the ones they said that to began to believe it themselves. And Professor Xavier knew he had to do something."  
  
By the time Shimmer and Rogue had taken turns telling the story, Max knew more than she'd ever thought possible about the mutant situation, such as it was. About how the school had gotten started, about its first students (Storm and Cyclops - more weird names) and about how groups were being trained to save the world. And when Rogue said, "Come on - I'll take you to meet some others," Max was still wondering how Logan would react to the whole world-saving thing. For once, she'd be able to surprise him with something.  
  
They hadn't gone very far before a voice exclaimed, "Destiny! I knew it!" and a large hand clamped on Max's shoulder, turning her around and bringing her face to face with the last person she'd expected to see again.  
  
A/N: Cliffhanger alert! If you've been keeping up, you might be able to guess. Otherwise I'm afraid you'll just have to wait.  



	5. 

Disclaimer: Once again, I only own Shimmer. Nobody else.  
  
Chapter 5: Small World  
  
For a moment, Max couldn't believe it. "Phil?"  
  
"You know him?" Rogue exclaimed.  
  
"Sort of." Phil had tracked Max down in the not-too-distant past and began investigating her "powers." He was a wannabe superhero trying to avenge his sister's death, and had definitely read too many comic books as a kid. Ironically, the first thing he had thought about Max was that she was a mutant. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I've been helping Professor Xavier," Phil replied. "I'm sort of the resident planner and stand-in hero. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but all things considered, it's not that bad. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Long story." She should have known that this would be the perfect place for him.  
  
"How's Logan?"  
  
"He loved that suit you sent him and, just a few days ago, he figured out how to use it."  
  
"What does he think of this place?"  
  
"I'm not sure he even knows about it," Max said truthfully. Pity. It seemed that if anyone in this world fit Logan's description of the "downtrodden," it would be the mutants in this school.  
  
"I was showing Max around," Rogue piped up. "Want to tag along?"  
  
"No, thanks. The professor wants to talk to me about these super-assassins he's trying to track down. I'll see you later." With that, Phil trudged off down the hall.  
  
"Super-assassins?" Rogue asked with a frown.  
  
"Don't ask."  
  
"We have someone named Logan here. Could they be the same person?"  
  
"Definitely not. Logan is..." She considered. How could she explain Logan to someone who had never met him? "He was one of the first people I ever really trusted with my secret," she said finally. "He wants to save the world, kind of like the people here. I had to leave him behind, though, when I came."  
  
"Oh. Do you miss him?"  
  
"I've taught myself not to miss people. It's easier that way." And it was easier, at least for now. If Xavier was right, soon she would have her brothers and sisters back. From the beginning, that was everything that she had wanted...everything.  
  
**  
  
Logan stared out the window, trying to find the stars beneath all that haze. That was what he did best, after all - did his best to create some sort of light, some sort of silver lining.  
  
Not that it mattered as much as it used to, now that Max was gone.  
  
He tried to tell himself that she had left before, and come back, and might come back this time. That it was safer for both of them. That he was really no worse off than he had been before he'd met her.  
  
That was a lie, of course.  
  
A notebook lay on the nearby table. Logan opened it to a half-finished poem that he had started before Max had left. She didn't even know about this one.  
  
Angel descending  
With wings torn off  
Returning to the darkness  
From which she came  
  
Voices call her  
The darkness beckons  
Falling forever  
Eyes on the sky  
  
He knew there should be more, but his mind was a blank right now. Besides, he could name several things that were more important at the moment than how much he missed her.   
  
**  
  
The flight from Seattle to New York City got in at eleven that night. When most of the passengers had caught taxis to wherever they were going, one figure stayed behind.  
  
Looking around to make sure nobody was within earshot, he snapped open a cell phone and punched in a number. "It's Lydecker," he said tersely when somebody answered. "My flight just got in."  
  
"Excellent," said the voice at the other end.  
  
"Are they there yet?"  
  
"The one called Max is here."  
  
"And the others?"  
  
"These things take time. I promise to send for you when I have found all of them that I can."  
  
"These soldiers are extraordinarily dangerous," Lydecker warned. "I can't stress too strongly the importance of your finding them."  
  
"I understand," said the voice.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Questions? Comments? Speculations on who might be helping Lydecker? Don't forget to review! I warn you that I am a major M/L shipper, which will become evident in later chapters.   
  
  
  
  



	6. 

A/N: READ THIS! I've decided that the X-men portion of this story is slightly alternate-universe, because I didn't want to try to figure out how old everyone was or make up a new team, but nor did I want to do one of those lame portal-into-another-universe jobs. Hope it's not too confusing or annoying.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from X-men or Dark Angel. Please don't sue.  
  
Chapter 6: The Tables Turn  
  
Upon entering the garage later that night, Max found that her own bike was, indeed, in need of repairs. "Don't worry, baby," she murmured. "You'll be all better soon."  
  
Fortunately, there was another motorcycle parked nearby, begging to be taken for a ride. Max was never one to turn down such a request.  
  
A minute later, she was zooming through the gates and through the night. [What are you doing? You were going to stay there, remember? At least until the others get there. If they're coming.]  
  
The town was more or less deserted, which suited her fine. [Alone. I'm always alone. I'm going back, of course. Whatever Xavier has up his sleeve, it's obviously not doing anyone any harm. It's not a bad place. Logan would rock if he found out. He'd probably team up with these guys to try to save the world. I miss him.]  
  
That last thought had been completely unexpected.  
  
She went a few more blocks, not thinking about Logan, or indeed about anyone. It was better that way. Then she turned back.  
  
She returned the borrowed bike to its rightful place, sure that nobody would ever know she'd taken it. She was wrong.  
  
"What are you doing?" demanded a man dressed in a bathrobe and, of all things, sunglasses.  
  
"I was just taking a spin around town," Max answered.  
  
"On my bike?"  
  
"Oh, this was yours? Then you must be..." Actually, she had no idea.  
  
"Cyclops."  
  
"Oh, yeah," she said. "One of those X-men. Sworn to protect a world that fears and hates you, and all that."  
  
"That's right," said Cyclops in a tone halfway between pride and annoyance. Not a good combination.  
  
"Help me understand something. Who exactly did you swear to?"  
  
"The professor, of course."  
  
"Sorry I asked," Max muttered.  
  
"Listen, new girl. You may have an attitude about him now. So do a lot of people when they first come here. But you'll change your mind sooner or later."  
  
"And how do you know that?"  
  
"Everyone changes their mind. Don't let me catch you stealing anything of mine again."  
  
"Don't worry," Max said to his retreating back. "I won't."  
  
**  
  
She spent the next day talking to Shimmer and Rogue. "So, what's up with that Cyclops character?"  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Don't pay any attention to our fearless leader. He'd believe that the moon was made of green cheese if Xavier said it was."  
  
"More mind control?" Max asked in disbelief. Exactly what she'd spent half her life trying to get away from.  
  
"Some of us wonder if Xavier could be controlling Scott's mind, yeah," said Shimmer. "But he wouldn't do something like that."  
  
"So you'd believe that the moon was made of green cheese, too?"  
  
"It's not that way."  
  
She wondered exactly what way it was, if not that one.  
  
"I have to get to class," Shimmer announced, rising. "Catch you later."  
  
"Where're you from?" Rogue drawled once she and Max were alone again.  
  
"Seattle," Max replied.  
  
"What's your power?"  
  
She wondered if this girl had been talking to Phil. "I can, um, jump really high...from distances, and stuff." It sounded really lame.  
  
"You'd be really good on the team, you know."  
  
"What? Oh." How could she say that she wasn't planning on staying? "I don't think it's for me."  
  
Max.  
  
She jumped about a foot in the air.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
Don't be alarmed, the voice in her head went on. Come to my office. I have something to show you.  
  
"I have to blaze, too," she said once she'd gotten over her surprise. "Xavier wants to talk to me."  
  
"Okay, shugah."  
  
That reminded her of Original Cindy, of course. By the time she reached Xavier's office, Max was beginning to regret not inquiring as to what exactly that something was. [A day in this insane asylum and I'm already getting sloppy.]  
  
Xavier was seated behind his desk, and another figure sat close by, staring at her hands.  
  
"What is it?" Max asked, confused.  
  
The other girl raised her head. She had long, light brown hair and a strikingly beautiful face. "Max?" she said wonderingly. "You're really here."  
  
It took all of Max's training not to gape. "Jondi?"  
  
A/N: I have no idea what Jondi actually looks like, since she was never on the show. If she ever is, I'll make corrections. Don't forget to review!  
  
  
  



	7. 

A/N: I hope that none of you will be majorly bummed if Shimmer fades into the background a little. I had plans for her and they never quite happened. Max's main alliance at the school will be with Rogue, who is movie 'verse here because that's basically the only way I've ever known her.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this chapter.  
  
Chapter 7: Catching Up  
  
Max and Jondi held onto each other for a long time, as if each was trying to ascertain that the other was really there. Even if the others never found their way here, this was all that mattered for the moment.  
  
"Unfortunately," Xavier spoke up, "I have only managed to locate one other of your siblings. It appears that many of them do not want to be found."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes. I believe that you called him Zack."  
  
"Great." The two minutes that Zack would stay in a place like this would probably be wonderful, but she didn't think she'd get much more than that. [But I'm leaving too, right?]  
  
When she and Jondi reached the room Max couldn't yet think of as hers, she shut the door and demanded, "Spill it. Where have you been? What have you been doing?"  
  
Jondi laughed. "Slow down. I've been pretty much everywhere. Traveling, you know? You'd think that ten years would be enough to see everything."  
  
"Is there...you know, anyone?"  
  
"Don't I wish. I don't like staying in one place too long, and getting close is, you know, hard. They ask me about myself, and I don't know what I'm supposed to say."  
  
"It's not as hard as you think," said Max.  
  
"Oh? Who is he?"  
  
"Who is who?"  
  
"The man who's melted your genetically enhanced heart."  
  
"His name's Logan," Max sighed, "and we're not like that."  
  
"Tell me - have you been in touch with any of the others?"  
  
She had been afraid of this. "It's not good."  
  
"What's not good? Max, whatever it is, I want to hear it."  
  
[Here goes.] "Ben went crazy," she said. "He died in the woods. I was there." She was telling the truth, if not the whole truth.  
  
"Oh, no."  
  
"Brin and Tinga got taken back." She still didn't want to think about that. "But Zack's okay. And I think I am."  
  
"Can we come in?" a voice asked from the doorway.  
  
"Sure," said Max. "Bobby, Rogue, this is my sister, Jondi."  
  
"Cool name," Jondi said to Rogue.  
  
"Yours isn't bad, either," Bobby spoke up.  
  
"Beats some stupid number." Jondi ignored the no-no motions that Max was making. "I've been wondering what exactly goes on around here."  
  
"I can tell you some stuff." Bobby led Jondi out the door.  
  
Rogue watched them leave. "Looks like the Iceman isn't so icy after all," she remarked.  
  
Max thought she knew what was going on. "Are you and Bobby..."  
  
"What? Oh. I guess we could have been, but he probably prefers someone he can touch."  
  
Correction: she had no idea what was going on. "Say what?"  
  
Rogue smiled ruefully. "Nobody told you? Whenever I touch anyone, I take their life force and their memories." She said this calmly, as if it was just another part of life that she'd had to accept.  
  
"Xavier did tell me about someone who could absorb people's energy. That was you?"  
  
"In person."  
  
"That's terrible." Max had seen some pretty horrible things in her life, but this had to be up there.  
  
"I guess it is. For a while, I couldn't deal with it. I even thought about, you know, ending it all." Seeing that Max was listening intently, she continued. "That's why I'm so grateful for the professor, and for this place."  
  
"But -" Max prompted.  
  
"But sometimes I'm not sure if fighting for the greater good is something I really want to do."  
  
"No offense, but how are you supposed to use something like that for the greater good?"  
  
Another smile. "To tell the truth, shugah, I don't know. I always figure I know what to do when I have to, and the rest of the time, it's something I have to deal with and work past. You know how that feels?"  
  
"Maybe more than anybody."  
  
**  
  
Bobby gave Jondi an abbreviated explanation of the way the school worked, but she seemed to be satisfied. "So, what's your power?" she asked.  
  
"I can do things with ice," he replied, and demonstrated.  
  
"I like it."  
  
"So, you're Max's sister?"  
  
"Yeah. We're about the same age. We grew up in different places, though." She hated lying to him. He was cute. But she knew that she couldn't trust anyone. And besides, none of it was really a lie. "You're some sort of superhero?"  
  
"Someday, maybe."  
  
Jondi gazed around. "This place...what you just told me...Xavier...it's all kind of a lot to take."  
  
"You'll get used to it," Bobby assured her. "I'll help you."  
  
She smiled. "I'd like that."  
  
A/N: I know it's kind of boring. Next chapter: Zack arrives, and things definitely speed up.   
  
  



	8. Fallen Angel

A/N: This is where it gets good. You find out who was helping Lydecker and everything. It is so not who you'd expect.  
  
Disclaimer: I own absolutely no one. Well, I own myself, but I am not at that school. Thank goodness for small favors.  
  
Chapter 8: Fallen Angel  
  
Zack arrived the next day, making it absolutely clear that absolutely nobody either sent or summoned him. When he and Max got close enough, he whispered, "Are you sure we can trust this Xavier?"  
  
"Don't you know?" she whispered back. "We can't trust anyone."  
  
When Jondi appeared, Max stepped back and let them do their touching-reunion thing. "Don't tell me you're happy here, too," Zack said.  
  
"It could be worse," said Jondi. "A lot worse." Her face softened. "Are you okay, Zack?"  
  
"I'll never be okay. Now that we're together, though -" He shrugged. "Like you said, it could be worse. Are the others coming?"  
  
"We don't know," Max replied. "If they're not, I'm more than ready to get on the road again, but..."  
  
"I could stay," Zack offered. Seeing her surprise, he continued, "Not for good, just to see what this place is all about."  
  
**  
  
Apparently, Zack didn't like what he saw. That night, he cornered Max in "her" room and proclaimed, "We're getting out of here."  
  
"Why?" Max asked. Not that she particularly wanted to stay, and not that she hadn't been expecting this, but she wanted to hear his reason.  
  
"I asked some questions," Zack was saying, "and it turns out that this is some kind of facility where he trains heroes to fight for him."  
  
"So what?"  
  
" 'So what?' Max, that's exactly what we've been trying to get away from."  
  
"It is so not like that," she protested.  
  
"Oh, isn't it? They can call themselves heroes, they can save the human race like Wheelchair Boy back in Seattle-"  
  
"Leave Logan out of this!"  
  
"Let me ask you a question," Zack said as if she hadn't spoken. "Do your new friends here know what you are?"  
  
"Xavier knows."  
  
"Why did you tell him?"  
  
"I didn't." She explained.  
  
"You said before that we couldn't trust anyone."  
  
"I was joking!" If he even knew the meaning of that word.  
  
"Well, you were right. We can't trust someone who can read our minds so easily. He could sell us out to Lydecker any minute."  
  
"But he hasn't yet."  
  
"But he could. This is the price we have to pay for escaping, Max: we can't stay anywhere too long. We can't make connections. It's always been so easy for you - you collect allies like trophies, and it's going to get you into trouble. I know it."  
  
"I don't care," she said stubbornly. "I think that this is where I belong."  
  
"Don't ignore my order, soldier."  
  
Something in her exploded. "Don't you ever, ever call me that again!" she shouted at him. "If you still believe that we're programmed, how was there any point in escaping in the first place?" He didn't answer. "You can leave. You can take Jondi with you, if you want. But I'm staying. This is where I belong." The fact that she didn't completely believe what she was saying was one she would worry about later.  
  
"Zack, I want to stay too." Jondi had entered the room, both looking and sounding like the child she had never gotten to be.  
  
"I don't believe this! Has he brainwashed you or something?" There was no real need to ask who "he" was. For the first time, Zack looked defeated. "Okay, you win. We'll stay, just for a little while. But don't say I didn't warn you if something goes wrong."  
  
**  
  
A few days later, Max got up the courage to do something it had taken her that long to decide to do. She located a phone and punched in an all-too-familiar number. "Please be home," she whispered. "I probably won't be able to do this again."  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Logan!" she exclaimed, as if she'd been expecting someone else. "It's me."  
  
Long silence. "Max," he said finally. "I thought you weren't going to try to contact me."  
  
"So did I."  
  
"Where are you? Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I can't tell you where I am. I found someone who helped me locate Zack and Jondi. They're here, too."  
  
"Who exactly is this 'someone?'" Logan asked suspiciously. "Let me guess - you can't tell me that, either. Okay, why is he helping you?"  
  
"I don't know," Max admitted.  
  
"I know you don't want me telling you what to do, but are you sure he has the best intentions?"  
  
"Even Zack thinks it's okay. And it takes a lot to get him to trust somebody. Logan, don't think that never occurred to me. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."  
  
"Okay." Another long silence. Then Logan said, "I miss you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I want you to come back."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Will you?"  
  
"I don't know." She wasn't sure about anything anymore. "If I don't, please don't keep missing me. I'm not worth it."  
  
"You're worth everything to me."  
  
"Don't say things like that." Damn emotions! "I have to go."  
  
She had barely hung up when someone tapped her shoulder, and she whirled around. It was a very distraught Bobby. "Zack and Jondi are gone."  
  
Max's heart stopped. "Gone? Gone where?"  
  
"These guys came and took them away. They barely even fought. I couldn't do anything."  
  
"Oh, no."  
  
"I'll get the others to go after them. We have to tell the professor, at least."  
  
"Tell me what?" Xavier asked, wheeling himself into view.  
  
"That Zack and Jondi are missing. Lydecker has them."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You...know?" She stared at Xavier with a mix of shock, fright, and comprehension. "You've been helping him all along, haven't you?"  
  
"From the beginning," Xavier agreed. "Why do you think I brought you here?"  
  
A/N: Yes, I know I'm evil! Questions? Comments? Expressions of outrage? You know what to do.  
  
  



	9. Judgment Day

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A/N: If all goes well, I am now posting from home, which means that you'll be seeing a lot more of me -- final exams notwithstanding. And a short note on continuity: This story obviously takes place before the events of the DA season finale.  
  
Disclaimer: I maintain that I own neither the X-men or Dark Angel.  
  
Chapter 9: Judgment Day  
  
Max had no idea how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered was staring at Xavier in horror, outraged at his betrayal. Then she supposed that she must have blacked out, and woken up here.  
She was strapped to some sort of bed -- she couldn't twist far enough to see -- in a dimly lit, windowless room. There was a door on the opposite wall. As she gazed at her surroundings, such as they were, someone whispered her name.  
She wrenched her head around. Zack lay in a similar situation to her own. Are you okay?  
Max tested her voice. Of course not. How long have we been here?  
A day at most. What happened back there?  
Max replied. He set us up. Don't even think of saying, I told you so.'  
  
A low moan issued from the other side of Zack. I'm going to kill him, Jondi said fiercely.  
  
Lydecker, of course. As Jondi spoke, the door slid open. Speak of the devil, she added.  
I'm actually puzzled, Lydecker began, about why people dislike mutants so much. It can be very useful to have one on your side.   
How long was he helping you? Max demanded.  
Ever since I told him that you were terrorists bent on destroying his silly dream, he said smugly.  
Weren't you worried that --  
That he would try to read my mind? Part of my training involved resisting mental probes, of course.  
Half of us are still out there, said Jondi.  
And I will find out where they are.  
Over my dead body, Zack snarled.  
Be careful what you wish for.  
You should be wiped off the face of the earth for use of corny lines alone, Max told him. We'll never tell you where the others are.  
I think that very soon, you'll be glad to have them with you. Lydecker said with a self-satisfied smile. As if on cue, his walkie-talkie crackled to life. I have to attend to this, he said, stepping toward the door. Welcome home, you three.  
Max struggled against her restraints, without any luck. She couldn't say that she hadn't been in bad situations before, but there had always been some way of getting out.  
Ten years of running. Always looking over her shoulder, never being able to lead a normal life, never being able to pretend that everything would be okay. No matter how long she ran, there was always the feeling of dread that all roads led back here. But she thought it had been worth it, if it meant knowing people like Original Cindy...and Logan.  
It had been such a mistake to leave him behind. None of this would have happened if she'd been able to admit that her life was incomplete without him.  
It couldn't end like this, it just couldn't!  
She heard a shout through the walls, followed by a dull thud. What was going on? A fight? Had one of the guards displeased Lydecker?  
The door slid open. Max steeled herself.  
Rogue burst into the room, pulling her gloves back on. I hope I never have to do anything like that again, she muttered.  
What are you doing here?  
Rescuing you, shugah, what do you think? It doesn't matter what Xavier thinks.  
I'll believe it when I see it, said Jondi. Now let us loose.  
Rogue did that, after some jiggering and fumbling. (I could have handled that, Zack grumbled.)  
The floor outside had become an expanse of extra-slippery ice courtesy of Bobby, who was waiting with Phil. Both guards were on the ground, apparently unconscious.  
The six of them moved carefully through the all-too-familiar corridors, to avoid both slipping and ambush. Images that were somewhere between memories and nightmares hovered at the edge of Max's consciousness, but she managed to keep them at bay. When they got out, she, Zack, and Jondi would hit the road. Yes, they'd be running again. But they would be together, and Xavier would be just another horrible memory.  
It was too bad. That place was one of the few that she'd felt like she'd really belonged. And looking over at her sister, she knew that she wasn't alone.  
As they neared the exit, Lydecker stepped into their path.  
She really hadn't expected to get out without a fight. Hoped for it, maybe, but not expected it. she ordered. You know that we're of no use to you dead.  
I know, said Lydecker, but he didn't lower the gun he was holding. I said that one mutant was useful to me. Doesn't mean that I like them trashing my base. I don't think I find these two brats -- meaning Bobby and Rogue) useful at all.   
  



	10. Ascending

crossover10

A/N: This is NOT THE END! There is still the epilogue! Read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: I so do not own these characters.  
  
Chapter 10: Ascending  
  
Lydecker aimed his gun at Bobby, who was closer. Perhaps to disarm him, perhaps only to distract him, Jondi rushed forward just as it went off.  
  
For a moment, Max was frozen. Her genetically enhanced heart, as Jondi had so eloquently put it, seemed to stop and start. She wasn't sure whether it was Zack or Bobby who shouted, first.  
  
She had already lost Ben, Tinga, and Brin. This was more than she could bear.  
  
This was when she tackled Lydecker, abandoning all reason and emotion and trusting her instincts and half-forgotten training to get her through one more fight. She didn't see Phil rising to take out the guards that rushed to the aid of their boss, she didn't hear Jondi's moans, she didn't feel the pain when Lydecker twisted her arm behind her back and she flung him off and into the wall...  
  
Max, stop! Rogue shouted.  
  
Max obliged. Lydecker was slumped against said wall, dazed, as those jerks in front of the drugstore had been before Max had fainted back in that pitiful excuse for a town, except it looked like her present adversary was in much worse shape.  
  
Bobby was kneeling by Jondi's side. She's alive, he whispered. We have to get her somewhere safe. Back to the school.  
  
I'm not going back there, Zack said firmly.  
  
Do you want to lose her? Max screamed at him.  
  
What about him? Phil indicated the fallen Lydecker. Rogue, I don't suppose...  
  
No way, shugah. His guards' memories were bad enough.  
  
Max turned to Lydecker. Don't worry. We're not going to kill you. But if you ever come near me again, or threaten any of my friends, you'll be put on the X-men's villain list just like that.  
  
They...they won't believe you, Lydecker managed. Xavier thinks you're evil.  
  
Since when do you assume that they just automatically believe everything he says? She hoped and prayed that she wouldn't regret that. Let's move out.  
  
And move out they did, Zack carrying Jondi. Max let her mind go blank again, not thinking about Logan or the future. She concentrated only on the waiting jet, and there even being a chance of getting Jondi to safety.  
  
**  
  
The battles, the escapes, the chances and risks she had taken in the past, all blurred together in Max's mind. She tried to think of this as just another one of those, but it was hard. She had almost lost a sister tonight, and, in attacking Lydecker, come very close to being just the mindless killing machine he had trained her to be. She stared out the window, wishing, absurdly, that Logan would come along and tell her that she did the right thing and would never be just a mindless killing machine in his eyes.  
  
said a quiet voice behind her.  
  
She jumped up. This is all your fault! she accused. How could you even think of doing what you did?  
  
I wasn't aware of what I was doing, Xavier defended. He took advantage of my need to eliminate evil.  
  
You'll never be able to get rid of all the evil in the world, she returned. Get over yourself. Her words struck a familiar chord, and she remembered the times she had said them to a certain other wheelchair-bound crusader. How's Jondi?  
  
Recovering nicely, and considering becoming one of us.  
  
Max snapped out of it completely. Okay, what did you do to her?  
  
Nothing. She has been searching for home for a long time, and apparently she's found it.  
  
Max had her own suspicions about Jondi's reason for staying, but she resolved to get them from her. Can I see her?  
  
**  
  
Jondi was propped up on a bed in the infirmary. She gave a wan smile when she saw Max enter. she said.  
  
Hey, baby sister. What's this I hear about you joining these geeks?  
  
Even if you or Zack didn't like the idea, I'd do it anyway. You know what I said before. I've never belonged somewhere like you have. I've never found someone who I know won't betray me or see me as a freak.  
  
Are we talking about Bobby? Max ventured.  
  
Yes. But it's not just because of him. For the first time in my life, I feel safe. What if you stayed too?  
  
In saying this, she had given voice to the thought that had been stirring in Max's head for days. She was as tired of running as any of them, and it was true that she would be safe here in case Lydecker did try to strike back, which she was pretty sure he would do. People would accept her here, not treat her as some not-quite-human threat. They'd had too much of that experience themselves.  
  
And yet (damn it, there was always an and yet) somehow she didn't feel comfortable staying in a place whose sole purpose seemed to be reminding her that she was different from the rest of the world -- a world she'd spent the last ten years trying to become a part of. Yes, it was a dangerous world, whether people were chasing you or not. Yes, her life was tough and scary. But she had worked too hard to make it _her_ life. She didn't want to be safe, especially if it meant pretending to be grateful to someone she didn't like or trust.  
  
Zack had said that she collected allies like trophies, that she was too trusting. She was just realizing that she'd tried it his way and it hadn't worked, when Zack himself stalked in. I don't like the idea of you staying, he said to Jondi. I'll be here for a couple more days just to make sure they don't try to brainwash you.  
  
Nobody can brainwash me, Jondi said assertively. I give you my word that I'll back out if I don't like it.  
  
Max, don't tell me you're staying too.  
  
Max shook her head. No. No, I'm not.  
  
**  
  
The only X-men she felt a need to say goodbye to were Bobby and Rogue. Thanks for everything, she said. There are just two more things you can do for me.  
  
Like what? said Bobby.  
  
Max held up a finger. Take good care of my sister. Another finger. And don't even think about letting Phil pick out his own codename.  
  
  
  
She would miss them. She didn't even try to deny it. But you missed out on a lot more by not trusting anyone than you did by trusting the wrong people. She never looked back, though, as she boarded her repaired bike and floored it.  
  
When all this had started, she remembered thinking about how a road's purpose was always to carry someone away from wherever. But as the school disappeared behind her, she realized that this road was doing something else: carrying her forward. Carrying her home.  
  
  
  



	11. Epilogue

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A/N: I hoped you all enjoyed my crossover. Thanks for all the great reviews.  
  
Disclaimer: I couldn't hope to make up such great characters as Max, Cindy, or especially Logan. Nor do I own the X-men, who are not in the ending.  
  
Epilogue  
  
A light rap on the door of the apartment interrupted Cindy's studious painting of her toenails. she called, approaching the door cautiously. She had been getting some questionable guests for the last two weeks, and it took some of them a while to catch on that the person they were looking for no longer lived there.  
  
The person on the door, however, was none other than Max herself.  
  
For a moment neither of them spoke. Original Cindy thought you'd decided to punk out on her ass, Cindy said finally.  
  
I thought so too. I made a mistake.  
  
You sure you feel okay about coming back here? I mean, they ain't going to stop looking for you.  
  
I'm more than ready for them, said Max, trusting -- _knowing_ -- that she would be.  
  
That sounds more like the Max I know. You going to tell Formerly Wheelchair Boy that you're back?  
  
You got it. Max took a long look around the apartment. Sentimentality alert, she said suddenly. Over now.  
  
Cindy shook her head, knowing that Max would never change, and that she herself wouldn't have it any other way. Welcome home, boo.  
  
**  
  
Penny for your thoughts, said Logan suddenly.  
  
Max had been staring out the window, a habit she was definitely going to have to break.   
  
Penny for your thoughts. Unless you think that they're more valuable than that.  
  
I don't know, she said, thinking of Xavier. Thoughts are more valuable than you might think.  
  
This place sounds...just perfect for you.  
  
No, Logan, it really doesn't. I guess Zack's rubbing off on me, 'cause I couldn't stand the thought of staying in one place too long.  
  
But you came back to... Logan stopped, realizing what he had been about to say. To here, he finished lamely.  
  
But she wasn't listening. Instead, she had lifted a piece of paper from the table. What's this? she asked, but she really didn't need to. He had obviously meant for her to find it.  
  
Angel descending  
With wings torn off  
Returning to the darkness  
From which she came  
  
Voices call her  
The darkness beckons  
Falling forever  
Eyes on the sky  
  
The shadows embrace her  
She closes her eyes  
The tears will not fall  
The rage will be stilled  
  
Yet light in the shadows  
Opens her eyes  
Love chases the darkness  
Away from its pray  
  
Swiftly ascending  
Eyes on the sky  
Breaking the surface  
To come into her own.  
  
Max raised her eyes from the paper. Okay, that's totally freaky. How'd you know?  
  
How'd I know what?  
  
This happened to me, she clarified. Way too corny for words.  
  
I wouldn't say that, said Logan, advancing awkwardly toward her. Stranger things have happened.  
  
Name one, she whispered, but their faces were already little more than an inch apart.  
  
It was a quick kiss, and although what she was saying was the last thing she felt, she backed away. We shouldn't do this right now.  
  
  
  
I really gotta blaze. I'll have to beg for Normal to give me my job back.  
  
See you later, then?  
  
I promise. And she walked out the door, closing it softly as she always did. The fighting wasn't over. The fear wasn't over. And she might never feel safe. She thought once about how easy it would be to place what she had just been through as only another memory. But it was a memory that gave her strength for the future, a future that hopefully would be hers as her past had never been. 


End file.
